The German naval and submarine designer TKMS is today the undisputed leader in the conventionally powered submarine market. Indeed, its Type 209, Type 212 and Type 214 and derivatives now equip more than half of the world's fleets with submarines.
However, this dominant position is now under threat, as shown by the study published recently on this site on the subject of Canadian competitionIndeed, the French Naval Group, with the Scorpene Evolved and the Blacksword Barracuda, or the South Korean Hanwha Ocean, with the KSS-III, are directly threatening TKMS's market share in this area.
Furthermore, if the German manufacturer had benefited from a competitive advantage for almost ten years, in the marketing of the Type 214, thanks to the AIP technology which extended the diving autonomy of submersibles, the arrival of the new lithium-ion batteries tends to shake up this market, offering superior performance to lead-acid batteries and AIP systems, with reduced maintenance constraints.
In this area, the German manufacturer is behind. It does not, in fact, have full control over these new batteries, while Mitsubishi Marines, with the Japanese Taigei, and Naval Group, with the Scorpene Evolved and Blacksword Barracuda, are already marketing this technology.
This is why TKMS has just asked the Bundesmarine, the German Navy, to equip one of its six Type 212A submarines in service with this type of battery, to complete its development, confirm the proper functioning of the system, and thus be able to integrate it with the other submarines produced by the manufacturer, including the Type 212 CD intended for the Bundesmarine and the Norwegian Navy, and proposed, with insistence, to the Royal Canadian Navy.
In this section:
The arrival of lithium-ion batteries on board submarines
The technology of anaerobic systems for submarines, designated by the acronym AIP for Air-Independant Propulsion, is not, in itself, new or modern. Indeed, the first systems, incorporating stored fuel and oxidizer, were tested at the beginning of the century, and the first operational devices, injecting stored oxygen to allow combustion in a diesel engine, were installed in the 30s.
However, it was not until the 80s, and the Swedish Stirling and French Mesma systems, that this technology became a real asset for conventionally powered submarines, followed in the 2000s by the first systems using fuel cells, on board the German and then Italian Type 212s.
While these systems do indeed make it possible to significantly increase the diving autonomy of conventional submarines, increasing from a few days to two or three weeks, depending on the model, they also have numerous operational and maintenance constraints.
In fact, it is used sparingly on board submarines equipped with it, which most often rely on their traditional lead-acid batteries to operate while diving.
In the early 90s, a new battery technology appeared, using the characteristics of the lithium ion, to accumulate and restore electrical energy. After fifteen years of development, and sometimes trial and error, these batteries began to equip a growing number of devices, and are, today, at the heart of two revolutions: the digitalization of society, by equipping smartphones and other laptops, and decarbonized mobility, with hybrid or electric cars.
However, it took another 15 years for the first submarine equipped with these new batteries, the Taigei, the lead submarine of the eponymous class, to enter service with the Japanese Naval Self-Defense Forces in March 2022.
A decisive asset for conventionally powered submarines
Although this entry into service is very recent, because it was necessary to ensure the efficiency and, above all, the safety of the system, it nonetheless represents a decisive development concerning the conventionally-powered submarine fleet.
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I hope that there will be a ministerial phone call to explain the conduct to be adopted at SAFT.
In memory of all the low blows of those damned Teutons.
Hello,
In this sentence “very often only available in the port of attack of the ship(s).” I think it means the home port.
Kind regards.
thanks, it's fixed)